Lip shield



E. E. BARNETT LIP SHIELD May 4, 1937.

Filed Aug. 29, 1936 ATTO R N EY.$

Patented May 4, 1937 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE LIP SHIELD Earl E. Barnett, North Hollywood, Calif. Application August 29, 1936, Serial No. 98,492

to be worn by women with rouged lips while putwting on or removing dresses to prevent accidental contact of the dresses with the lip rouge and resultant spotting of the dresses and smearing; of the rouge onto the skin adjacent the lips. The need for such shields has been recognized for some time and numerous shield constructions have been. proposed by others to satisfy the need. However, to the best of my knowledge, all the prior known constructions have had drawbacks that prevented their extensive commercial "use. To be practicable a, dress-protective lip shield must be so designed as to completely cover the lips,.be comfortable to wear, be of such construction as toremain in sanitary condition prior and up to the time of use and at the same time be inexpensive to manufacture and handle.

A broad object of'the invention is to provide an inexpensive, eflicient, sanitary and comfortable lip shield.

A-more specific object is to provide a lip shield or guard of such construction that the parts contacting the mouth and lips cannot readily be contacted with foreign objects, such as the fingers, duringhandling or while placingor adjusting the guard on the lips.

Another specific object is to provide a lip shield that, as manufactured, is perfectly fiat, thereby facilitating shipping, packing andhandlin-g, yet is readily adjustable into proper shape for use and that to a large extent is self-adjusting as to shape to fit lips of various sizes and shapes. Another more specific object is to provide a shield adapted to be bent from flat form suitable for shipment and packaging into an open position for application to the lips, in which the shield in opening from closed to open position bends along straight lines which may be creased during manufacture to insure positive opening of the shield in a desired manner.

Various more specific objects and features of .the invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows:

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation view of a shield in accordance with the invention, shown in position of use on the mouth of the wearer;

Fig. 2 is a top view of the device in closed posi- "tion;

,the shield 1.5119Wh. in Fig. v3v is formed Fig. 5 is a plan view of a different blank from which the main elements of the shield shown in Fig. 2 may be formed;

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the blank for forming a tongue to be used with the elements shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional View showing a shield as formed from the elements shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 in open position;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of two blanks from which the main elements of the shield may be formed;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the blank for forming a tongue to be used with the elements shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a vertical sectional view showing a shield in open position when assembled from the blanks shown in- Figs. 8 and '9'; and

Fig. 11 is a view looking into the shield, the latter being opened for application to the lips.

Referring first to Fig. 1, the shield therein depicted comprises as its main elements a pair of identical wall members I and 2, respectively, joined together at their outer edges and having secured therebetween at their outer edges a tongue 3 which projects forwardly between the wall members i and 2 and is adapted to be gripped between the teeth of the wearer to support the shield in position against the lips.

Referring now to Fig. 2, when the shield is in fiat position the walls I and 2 lie flat against each other and against the tongue 3. In this condition each wall I and 2 is oblong in shape with rounded or oval ends and has an outwardly extending tab or wing A projecting from the mid portion of the outer edge. Each wall member is creased along a line 5 which is the line of joinder between the tab ,4 and the remainder of the wall member and'along lines 6 and 1 extending from the opposite ends of line 5 substantially to the end tips of the wall member. The two Wall members are joined together by three clips or staples 8, 9 and i ll, respectively, each positioned parallel to but disposed outwardly from the respective crease lines 5, 6 and 1. The portions of the wall members beyond the crease lines 6 and 1 constitute tabs H and I2 by which the shield is held during application to the lips. The centerstaple 8 also secures the tongue 3 to the walls I and 2. Each wall member is also creased along lines 13 and I4 extending transversely from the respective intersections of lines 5 and 6 and lines 5 and 1 to the opposite edge.

The device is opened and applied to the lips by the simple operation of gripping the tab l i with the fingers of one hand, the tab I 2 with the fingers of the other hand, forcing the tabs II and I2 toward each other with a. rotary motion about the points of intersection of the lines 6--I3 and 'I-I4, which causes the wall members I and 2 to open out into boat shape, leaving the tongue 3 projecting intermediate them, and placing the device snugly over the lips while passing the end of the tongue 3 between the teeth. When the device is placed snugly over the lips in a satisfactory and comfortable position to the wearer, the latter grips the tongue 3 with the teeth, thereby positively retaining the device in place as long as is necessary.

By virtue of the front rounded edges I5 at the ends of the side Walls I and 2, the device when opened into boat shape as described conforms very closely to the shape of the lips.

To provide ventilation and permit breathing through the mouth While the shield is in place, small apertures or perforations I6 are preferably provided in each wall member I and 2 adjacent the creases 5, B and I. If desired for advertising or instruction purposes, these perforations may be so positioned as to define letters, words or symbols.

By virtue of the fact that the device is formed from flat sheet material such as paper and is delivered in flat condition, the surfaces of the article are particularly well adapted to display advertising printing or designs and may become a useful advertising agency much the same as paper match packages have become.

By virtue of the creases 5, 6, 'I, I3 and I4 placed in the wall members I and 2, my lip shield always opens positively and uniformly in the same manner. Opening is facilitated because of the fact that the wall material is not distorted and does not have to bend except along straight lines at the creases.

The lip shield as described is particularly sanitary for the reason that the surfaces thereof which come in contact with the lips, teeth or tongue of the wearer are only the inside surfaces of the wall members I and 2 and the surfaces of the tongue 3, all of which surfaces are completely protected from contact when the device is in closed position and the device may remain in closed position during handling, packing and shipping and never be opened until it is applied to the mouth by the wearer. Even during the act of applying the shield it is held by tabs II and I2 and there is no need or necessity of inserting the fingers or any other object between the wall members I and 2 to open the device.

Several different methods of constructing a shield as described are disclosed in Figs. 3 to 8, inclusive. As shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the device is constructed from a single blank consisting of wall portions I1 and I8, each of the general shape shown in Fig. 2, joined to a tongue portion I9, which tongue portion is substantially twice the length of the tongue in the finished device. The blank shown in Fig. 4, in addition to being creased along the lines shown in Fig. 2, is also creased along a line 20 at the mid section of the tongue portion I9 and along lines 2I and 22 which constitute the lines of joinder with the Wall portions II and I8. The blank shown in Fig. 4 is formed by first bending it along the crease line 20 to double back the tongue portion I9 and then bending each wall member I1 and I8 back over the tongue member along the crease lines 2| and 22. Following these two folding operations the blank will have the appearance shown in Fig. 2 and the assembly is completed by inserting the staples 8, 9 and III. The sectional view of Fig. 3 shows clearly the bends as they appear in the article after it has been opened for use.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and '7, the side walls are formed from a single blank and the tongue from a separate blank. In this case the main blank consists of a pair of wall portions 23 and 24, respectively, each of substantially the same identical shape as the finished wall members (shown in Fig. 2) but the two joined together along a crease line 25. The tongue blank as shown in Fig. 6 is simply a rectangular piece of sheet material. This device is assembled by folding the wall portions 23 and 24 flat against each other by bending the blank along the crease 25. The tongue is then inserted with one end in the fold against the crease line 25 and assembly completed by inserting the staples 8, 9 and III.

In the construction shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10, the shield is formed from three separate pieces, the respective wall members being formed from a pair of identical blanks 26, each of the same shape shown in Fig. 2 and the tongue being a simple rectangular blank as shown in Fig. 9. With this form of construction assembly is completed by simply laying the tongue member between two wall members with one end of the tongue flush with. the tab edges 21 of the blanks 26 and stapling the parts together with the staples 8, 9 and I8.

Any suitable sheet material may be used in constructing the shield. However, since for purposes of sanitation it is intended that each shield be used only once it is preferable to employ relatively inexpensive material such as paper.

Although in describing the construction it has been stated that the various elements of the device were secured together by the staples 8, 9 and 10, it is to be understood that this particular method of joining the parts is by no means essential and the, parts may be joined in any known manner such as by the use of adhesives or rivets or clips of various types.

For purposes of explanation, several specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail. It is to be understood, however, that various modifications may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the invention and the latter is to be limited only as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A device of the type described comprising a pair of relatively elongated normally flat wall members of flexible sheet material positioned one on top of the other and connected together along one side at three points, adjacent one end, the middle, and the other end, respectively, the end points of attachment being spaced laterally with respect to the mid-point of attachment whereby said wall members spread apart at the mid-portions of their free edges to form a boatshaped body in response to inwardly directed longitudinal forces applied to the members adjacent their ends, and a tongue member interposed between said wall members and secured to one at least of said wall members, in which one at least of said wall members is extended laterally beyond the end points of attachment to provide tabs whereby the device may be conveniently gripped with the fingers for manipulation.

2. A device of the type described comprising a pair of-relatively elongated normally fiat wall members of flexible sheet material positioned one on top ofthe other and connected together along one side at at least three points adjacent one end, the middle and the other end, respectively, the end points of attachment being spaced laterally with respect to the mid-point of attachment, whereby said wall members spread apart at the mid-portions of their free edges to form a boat shaped body in response to inwardly directed longitudinal forces applied to the members ad- 10 jacent their ends, and a tongue member interposed between said wall members and secured to one at least of said wall members, in which each of said wall members is weakened along three connected straight lines extending approximately through 15 said three respective points of attachment, the

middle line extending substantially parallel to the long dimension of the device and the two end lines extending diagonally from the opposite ends of the middle line past the end points of attachment to the end margins of the Wall members, whereby said wall members bend substantially entirely along said lines to spread the mid-portions thereof in response to inwardly directed longitudinal forces applied to the members adjacent their ends.

3. A device as described in claim 2, in which each wall member is also weakened along two lines extending from the respective ends of said middle line to the opposite edge.

- EARL E. BARNETT. 

